Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Free research journal access – the teacher campaign continues

It’s not just teachers who have limited access to education journal articles – but also civil servants at the Department for Education, Schools Week has learned. Concerns were raised about civil servant access to research after Schools Week reported that teachers in England are unable to access education journals for free, while their counterparts in […]

Brighter A level students given fewer university offers, ucas figures reveal

The brightest students are missing out on offers from universities compared to their lower scoring peers, figures from university admissions body UCAS have revealed. The latest End of Cycle report from UCAS shows students who applied to start university in September last year with at least one predicted A* grade were accepted at less than […]

Life-changing school and uni networks re-established

More than 30 regional networks aimed at encouraging outreach between schools and universities are to be established, four years after the Aimhigher initiative was scrapped. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has said it expects 200 universities and other providers to engage with 4,300 schools and colleges through the new national networks for […]

For-profit free school’s £307k bailout

The education business behind England’s first for-profit free school has gone into the black for the first time, but only because of £307,000 pumped in by the Swedish company that controls it. IES International English Schools UK Limited has a ten-year contract to run IES Breckland school in Brandon, Suffolk. It is the only free […]

Ofsted chief backs positive discrimination for teachers

Positive action is legal if used to hire more diverse staff but difficult to implement, an employment law expert has said after chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw supported the practice. Jo Bradbury, an associate solicitor in the employment department at education specialist firm SGH Martineau LLP, analysed comments made by Sir Michael during a phone-in […]

Teachers’ Working Longer Review board to be revealed next month

Membership of the board tasked with scrutinising the impact of teachers working into their 60s will be decided next month, with unions hoping the review will prove their concerns. Applications to join the board – called the Teachers’ Working Longer Review – closed on Monday. Appointments are due to be made by the end of […]

PISA test results will measure exam reform success

The government will use the UK’s position in the international PISA tests taken by 15-year-olds to judge the success of its extensive exam reforms, the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed. The department’s support for PISA was unveiled in supplementary evidence sent to the education select committee after education secretary Nicky Morgan was pushed to […]

Ofsted reliability will be tested by ‘double’ inspections

– ‘Reliability tests’ will be trialled in Spring inspections – Two independent inspectors will compare grades Double visits by Ofsted inspectors are to take place on the same day at schools, following an admission by the inspectorate that not enough has been done in the past to ensure the reliability of judgements. Ofsted’s national director […]

David Weston, chief executive, Teacher Development Trust

It’s been half an hour and David Weston has yet to pause for breath. He’s covered the first 30 years of his life when he decides that he’d “better just have a sip of tea”. It’s a family trait, this talking thing, he says. “My mum was always amazingly good at talking to people and, […]